The present disclosure and embodiments thereof are in the field of electron channeling contrast imaging of a crystalline material as commonly used in research labs. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a multi-beam electron microscope used to create electron channeling contrast images of the crystalline material for the purpose of detecting crystalline defects within the material.
In manufacturing of microelectronics, defects in the crystalline quality of the material can adversely affect the material quality. As materials (such as, Ge, SiGe and/or III-V compound) are added into the manufacturing line, defects caused by the epitaxy and processing of dissimilar materials are more abundant than with silicon only technologies. Therefore, it is important to test the defect density and other properties in the materials to control the growth and processing in the line.
Most of the conventional techniques used for such defect detection are destructive, since they require cutting, polishing and/or thinning of the sample being tested. Although there are some non-destructive techniques for defect detection, such techniques are limited. For example, known non-destructive techniques have low throughput, which hinders the ability of the known non-destructive techniques for providing accurate and efficient defect detection.
Accordingly, there exists a need in the art to overcome the deficiencies and limitations described hereinabove with respect to the conventional non-destructive technique for detection of defects in various crystalline materials used in the semiconductor industry.